Embodiment

In mindfulness the importance of the mind/body connection goes without saying.  When first beginning to investigate the sensation in the body many people are very surprised by how disconnected they really are.  To increase the full body/kinesthetic awareness improves the ability to be less challenged by the stress of the everyday thinking mind.  It shifts the awareness to the body and breath and the sense of stillness that resides there.  A practice that is helpful, is to compete a rhythmic movement exercise like walking or yoga.  These practices increases the overall proprioceptive (awareness of muscles and joints in space) awareness.  It creates a more restful and aware presence and there becomes more availability of body sensation when participating.  Another practice is interoceptive investigation of the current sensations in the body.  To begin the practice of investigating the emotional patterns that thoughts create in the body is liberating.  Use interoception to feel into the heart space or the belly to examine deeper your actual physical sensations.  This places the choice of how to handle emotional challenges in your hands, so that you do not become a victim of reactivity. A body scan is a practice that can assist with becoming more aware as well.  It is a practice where you shine the light of awareness on your body starting from the toes and up to the head.  Following this meditation practice there is a deepening, a sensing the wholeness of the body in it’s entirety.  There is a relaxing into the spacious presence of the physical state.  A groundedness that envelops you, a connection to the earth.  A further appreciation of the strong body that sustains you and a gratitude for your body no matter the condition.  To experience an expansion of your body awareness is a gift to give yourself.  To shift from lost in thought to grounded and still resting.  Peace is a full body immersive experience, where there is a change from worry and discontent to quiet spacious embodiment.